Freya's POV

It's been a week since I discovered the king was a bear and I haven't seen him since the night of the incident. I thought that now that I knew what he looked like I would see him more, but alas not.

Moira told me that he stayed mostly in his room. I was saddened that I didn't see more of him and I didn't know why, maybe it was his mysterious side that piqued my interest.

I wanted to ask him if he remembered me, but whenever I got the nerves to go to the west wing I remembered our first encounter and I would turn around.

Days at the castle were mostly the same I would help cook around and then spend the rest of my time exploring the castle. The was absolutely gorgeous.

While I was exploring I came across the ball room. It was massive and had golden dust covered chandeliers dangling from the ceiling. It seemed so dead because everything was covered with white cloths. I could only imagine all the lavish parties that were held here and I wondered if I ever attended balls.

After I explored every inch of the ballroom I decided to go to the kitchen to see if cook needed any help. And right I was, because she immediately put me to work.

-*-

I was cooking lunch with cook when Moira bursted through the doors.

"Oh here you are. I've been looking everywhere for you." She said as she walked over to me and cook.

"Why?" I asked.

"Well I was wondering if you would mind to take the king his lunch? I know how you feel about him, but I'm really busy and-"

"Of course." I said cutting her off, to eager to grab this opportunity.

"Thank you so much." She said with a smile which I returned.

Cook quickly grabbed a tray and placed all the king's food onto it before handing it to me. I gave them a last smile before I went to the West wing.

Each step I took made me doubt my hasty reply. What was I thinking? How could I forget how he treated me? What would his reaction be when he sees me?

I don't even know why I wanted to see him badly, something was seriously wrong with me.

I was so caught up in my thoughts that I didn't even notice that I was already standing infront of the doors. I took one big breath before I opened the door quietly.

When I opened the door I heard a big roar echoing through the halls coming from the library. I gulped, scared at what I was going to face.

I forced my feet to move to the door of the library. I lifted my hand and after taking another breath of air, I knocked.

"Enter!" I heard the king say.

I opened the door as quietly as I could and stepped inside the familiar library. I walked through the rows of book with the tray in hand as I went to the other side of the library.

Behind the tall bookcases there was a lounge area where the king was sitting on a chair with a paw against his forehead. It was quite comical to see a bear looking so humanly. 

I cleared my throat to get the king's attention. He dropped his paw and looked up to see me.
When our eyes met he gave me a shocked look before it was replaced with a look of anger.

"What are you doing here?" He asked trying to surpress his anger and I gulped again before I cleared my throat.

"Moira asked me to bring you your lunch." I said as I placed the tray on the table in the middle of the lounge.

"Well thank you then." The bear king said.

I nodded as I glasped my hands together infront of my skirt.

"You may go now." The king said as he noticed me still standing there.

I nodded once more before I bowed and turned around to leave. Once I reached the door and my hand was on the handle something stopped me from leaving. Before making my decision I contemplated my choice. I wondered why the king roared like that when I entered and I was too curious to let it go. It must have been something very terrible to get such a reaction out of the king.

I spun on my heels before I turned around and went back to the king. The king immediately noticed my presence.

"Did you forget something?" The king asked as he stared at me.

"No...yes...this has nothing to do with me, but I heard you roar before I entered and I wondered what was wrong?" I said at the speed of lightning.

"You're right it has nothing to do with you and why do you even care?" He asked.

"Well maybe because I feel indebted to you?" I aske rather than said, but to tell the truth I didn't even know why I did worry.

"You don't have to. You saved my life so we are even." He stated.

I shrugged my shoulders not knowing what else to say. 

"Well if that is all, will you please leave?" He asked.

"No."

"What?" He asked shocked.

"I'm not leaving until you tell me what is wrong." I said defiantly as I crossed my arms over my chest. Not knowing where my sudden courage came from.

"Excuse me, but I don't have to tell you anything." He said in a low growl that sent a chill down my back, but I didn't let it show.

"Well then I'll just keep you company until you decide to tell me." I said as I walked over to the couch across from him. 

He gave me a shocked look.

"But I want to eat." He said.

"Then eat." I said as I nodded to the tray infront of him.

"I'm not eating infront of you." He said.

"Well then you'll starve because I'm not leaving until you tell me what the problem is."

"Faeries sure are stubborn." He said as he sighed.

"So are you going to tell me?" I asked.

"I guess I don't have a choice, do I?"

"Nope." I said as I shook my head.

"Fine. I was frustrated because I can't read books." He said with a sigh.

When he said it my eyes traveled to the tworn piece of papers next to the couch and then to the king's paws and I felt my heart clench as I saw his dilemma.

"Oh." I said. The king nodded his head.

"Well if you would allow me, I would like to help." I said.

"And how do you propose to do that?" He asked.

"I could read the books for you." I suggested.

"Why would you want to do that?" He asked.

"I have nothing else to do and I love to read." I said. 

"Well I guess it is not such a bad idea."

"So is that a yes?" I asked.

"Yes." I couldn't help but to give him an excited smile.

"When should I start?" I asked.

"Tomorrow morning right here at eight sharp and don't dare be late." He said and I nodded all the while smiling.

"Can you leave me now?" He asked.

"Yes, I'll leave you to your lunch, sire. See you tomorrow morning." I said before I left the room all the while with a smile on my face.

When I reached the door I heard the king mumble"peace and quiet at last." And I gave a small smile.

At least I was starting to break a brick in his stone wall.

I don't know why I wanted to help the cursed king so much, but I guess it had something to do with the fact that I felt sorry for him.

I rushed down to the kitchen. When I returned to the kitchen I saw Moira standing there next to cook.

Moira's eyes immediately lit up when she noticed me.

"Why did you take so long?" Cook asked after she noticed my presence.

"Well I got held by the king. We talked." I said.

"What did you talk about?" Moira asked an di told her what happened about how I heard a roar and how I offered my assistance.

"And he accepted your help?" Moira asked with a shocked look across her face.

"Yes, I was surprised myself. But I didn't give much choice though."

"Freya, your the first person who he accepted help from. That is quite an accomplishment in my books. I've spent years trying to help him with his reading but he solemnly refused."

I couldn't believe her words. Why didn't he accept help from them? Well all that counts is that he accepted my help and maybe just maybe we might become friends.